Christ Jesus is He Who Died, Yes, Rather Who Was Raised

Easter Sunday

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

"And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley (last stanza)

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Basic Christianity in a Nutshell

Look with me at the words we just sang - the last verse of "And
Can it Be?". This is a one-verse short course in basic
Christianity. Every line in this verse is a profound truth taken
from the Bible about what it means to be a Christian.

No condemnation now I dread

Romans 8:1 - "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus." The sweetest of all words to a guilty
sinner like me! No condemnation in Christ!

Jesus, and all in him, is mine!

Romans 8:32 - "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us
all things?" Not every convenience or every comfort in this life,
but everything that is good for us, as we trust him, and in the
end, eternal life, every blessing possible, and ever-increasing joy
with God.

Alive in Him [Christ] my living Head

Colossians 3:3-4 - "Your life is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be
revealed with Him in glory." If you trust Christ, he becomes your
life, and your life becomes as indestructible and eternal as his.
No matter what befalls you here.

And clothed in righteousness divine

2 Corinthians 5:21 - "[God] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be
sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him." The foundation of our acceptance with God is not our
righteousness, but God's righteousness reckoned to us for Christ's
sake, because he died for us. This is our hope and security.
Therefore . . .

Bold, I approach the eternal throne

Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us draw near with boldness to the throne of
grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time
of need." What sinners can be bold with God? Only those who are
clothed in righteousness divine. And that comes by faith in Christ,
not by our imperfect striving.

And claim the crown, through Christ my own

2 Timothy 4:8 - "There is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to
me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved
His appearing." A crown? Why a crown? Aren't crowns for kings? Yes,
and for king's children - eventually. After a life of faith and
servanthood and love - perhaps in Moralica, Honduras, or Tirana,
Albania, or Tecate, California, or in your next-door neighbor's
garage or hospital room - after a life of faith in Christ and love
for people, then the crown.

Just Judge + Guilty Sinner = No Condemnation.

All this - all this hope ("Jesus, and all in him, is mine") -is
based on the great declaration, "There is no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). This is the very essence of
Christianity: God is an unwaveringly just and holy Judge. Nobody
gets by with anything in his courtroom. But we are all sinners and
all guilty before him (Romans 3:23). Nevertheless, no charge can be
made to stick against us. What? No one can condemn us? Every true
Christian sings with joy, "No condemnation now I dread!"? How can
this be? Just Judge + Guilty Sinner = No Condemnation. How does
such an equation work? That is what Christianity is meant to
answer.

In Romans 8:33-34 Paul raises this question, "Who will bring a
charge against God's elect?" And then, he doesn't answer, "Well, my
enemies might, or my wife might, or my conscience might, or worst
of all, God might. After all I am a sinner." Instead, he answers,
"God is the one who justifies." In other words, others might bring
charges, but the Supreme Court of the universe, namely, God, has
already "justified." That is, he has acquitted and reckoned us
righteous. "Clothed in righteousness divine." So nobody can make a
charge stick. It doesn't matter who indicts us or what their case
is, if God has justified us, "there is now no condemnation." That's
verse 33.

Just Judge + Guilty Sinner + Death of Christ = No
Condemnation.

But how can this be? How does "Just judge + guilty sinner = no
condemnation"? A judge can't simply let criminals go free and still
honor the law and protect society. So the next verse asks the same
question again, but this time answers it with a more foundational
answer. Romans 8:34, "Who is the one who condemns?" This is the
same as asking, "Who will bring a charge against God's elect?"
(verse 33). There the answer was: It doesn't matter who brings
charges against you if God is for you and has declared you
righteous. "It is God who justifies." Here the answer is: It
doesn't matter who condemns you, because "Christ Jesus is He who
died."

There's the missing component in the equation, and the great
center of Christianity, the death of Christ in the place of
sinners. So now the equation goes like this: Just Judge + Guilty
Sinner + Death of Christ = No Condemnation. The condemnation that
belonged to us because of our sin was put on Jesus, and the
righteousness that belonged to Jesus because of his perfect
obedience was put on us.

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned he stood,
Sealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah! What a Savior!
("Hallelujah! What a Savior," by Philip P. Bliss)

Therefore: "There is now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

What About the Resurrection and Christ's Interceding for
Us?

But what about the rest of verse 34? Do we need to add it to the
equation? "Christ Jesus is He who died; yes, rather who was raised,
who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." What
about the resurrection of Jesus and the reign of Jesus today at
God's right hand where he intercedes for us?

Well, yes these are essential. Without them there would be
condemnation to all of us guilty sinners. Paul said in 1
Corinthians 15:17, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is
worthless; you are still in your sins."

But the resurrection of Jesus and the intercession of Jesus for
us in heaven are essential for this reason: they prove the validity
and the eternity of the condemnation-removing effect of the death
of Jesus. The resurrection doesn't add anything to the
condemnation-absorbing effect of Jesus' death. And the intercession
of Jesus for us in heaven doesn't add anything to the
condemnation-absorbing effect of Jesus' death.

Instead, the resurrection of Jesus proves that God is satisfied
with the death of Jesus as removal of all our guilt and
condemnation. Jesus did not have to stay dead to keep paying for
our sin. His suffering and death were sufficient. The resurrection
is God's great declaration: It really is finished. The debt has
been paid. Justice has been done. Guilt is removed. Condemnation of
sin has been executed.

And when Paul says in verse 34 that Christ is at the right hand
of God interceding for us, the point is not that anything is being
added to the sufficiency of the death of Christ, but that this
death has eternal effectiveness. What is the plea that our
interceding advocate makes with God? His plea is his own blood, his
own death. He has no other case to make for us but his own death.
That is the meaning of his daily intercession. The death of Christ
is as valid and as eternal as the life of the risen, interceding
Christ. That's the point.

So I think we can keep our equation simple: Just Judge + Guilty
Sinner + Death of Christ = No Condemnation. But we need to keep in
mind: because Christ rose from the dead, we know that his death was
utterly sufficient and needs no repetition or addition to remove
all our condemnation. And because Christ intercedes for us, we know
that his death will go on having its saving effect as long as there
is Christ - who can never die!

"Just Judge + Guilty Sinner + Death of Christ = No
Condemnation."

Underlined with the resurrection of Christ, and underlined with
the intercession of Christ at God's right hand.

This is the heart and essence of Christianity.

No condemnation now I dread, Jesus, and all in him, is mine.

When condemnation is removed, what you have in its place is all
that God is for you in Jesus. "Jesus, and all in him, is mine" -
all that God is and all that God promises - are yours when you are
in him.

How Does God's Work Become Mine Personally?

Which raises the question now of how this work of God to remove
condemnation becomes ours personally. The Biblical answer is that
we are justified by faith: Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ." So we might say, add our faith into the equation: "Just
Judge + guilty sinner + death of Christ + my faith = no
condemnation." And I suppose that would be a perfectly legitimate
way to say it.

But I wonder if it might not be even better to say: leave the
equation as it is - expressing all that God is doing in the face of
sin to remove condemnation. And then to ask, Do we love this great
work of God? Do we cherish this work and this God who works like
this for us? Do we trust this God and this great work? Do we
receive
all that God is for us in Jesus when he takes away our
condemnation?

Maybe the way to draw this is to put a big heart around the
equation. Not just that we get into it, but that it gets into us.
We take it in. We live on it. We love it. God does the work and we
believe in the work and stand on the work. And receive all that God
is for us in the work.

Possessing All that God Is for You in Jesus Christ

When I was pondering how to bring this home to you yesterday, I
read a letter that was written to me dated March 24, 1999 from a
pastor in California whom I do not know. I think this brings the
matter home to a fitting conclusion:

Just a word of thanksgiving to God. . . . I serve a wonderful
congregation in a small town in central California. . . . On
February 14th of this year, Tony, a young man of 27 years who had
been visiting us, took his own life. He left behind a family that
loved him, which included 4 beautiful children, and one resounding
question. Why?

As I watched the medical examiners pull his stiffened body out
of a van, a sense of dread overcame me. I asked myself, "What could
have possessed him to do such a thing?" This question haunted my
heart and mind throughout the following weeks. It was like a cold
draft that invaded the warmth of my family and ministry. It
ultimately caused me to take a leave of absence from our church to
search for answers.

It was during this time that I was led quite providentially [to
the truth of living by faith in future grace, and] . . . God's
grace and the power of His Spirit . . . [opened] a door in my heart
through which I could behold the wondrous beauty of God in Christ
Jesus. This beauty has helped me better apprehend the purpose for
which I was created: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

In the end I learned that it wasn't what possessed Tony that
compelled him to take his life, but rather what he didn't possess
(apprehend): all that God is for us in Jesus Christ. I have left
all other questions, concerning this matter, along with Tony's
life, in God's sovereign Hand.

Through it all, God's grace has sustained me; and even more, has
strengthened me that I might joyfully "lay hold of that for which
Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." This joy has permeated my
heart and mind and has overflowed onto my wife, daughter, church
and community.

This is what I pray for you all this morning. That you will
"possess all that God is for you in Jesus Christ." That you will
"lay hold on what Christ has done to lay hold on you." And that you
will overflow with joy in knowing that there is now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, but rather, that Jesus and all in
him is yours.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books.

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